#Blog

One of the most important things I realised when I started teaching the piano ten years ago was the value of time I had invested myself (however reluctantly at the time) in learning scale patterns. They really are one of the fundamentals of piano technique upon which much of the repertoire is built. Making it fun or simplifying the task of learning them is always a challenge for the piano…

From September 2014 I took over the direction of the Aldford Singers, a community choir founded only 12 months previously. We prepared and performed a World War 1 celebration concert in October 2014 in collaboration with my previous choir, the NE Singers to a packed Village Hall in Aldford.

The combined Aldford Singers and NE Singers in action in November 2014

In January 2015, the choir’s…

Happy New Year! First announcement of the year is that I am now a daddy. Eleanor Felicity was born on 2nd January weighing 8lb 10oz. She is a gorgeous little girl (not that I’m biassed at all) and seems to enjoy vying for attention with Geoffrey and Ruxpin when she isn’t draining her mother’s milk! She hasn’t visited the studio yet to hear the piano play but there is plenty of time for that.

 I…

Red Squirrel at Formby on Flickr.

Catnip spider #theruxpindaily on Flickr.

Moonlight by the Town Hall on Flickr.

Waterfalls Project 2014

 Waterfalls Project 2014

Starting this half term, I am running a studio-wide composition project; “Waterfalls“.

Object: Compose a piece of piano music, 96 seconds in length, titled “Waterfalls” to reflect/accompany the video.

There are three different types of waterfalls featured which may each be represented differently in your composition.

You may want to team up with a partner for this…